


Dress of Roses

by Harpyienkind



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky is a witch, It has a happy ending with a sour feeling, M/M, May be a songfic, Tony a blacksmith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 23:18:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19386481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harpyienkind/pseuds/Harpyienkind
Summary: Tony Stark was to marry Virgina Potts but the man living in the woods was what his heart was longing for.





	Dress of Roses

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Dani. Happy Birthday my love. I am forever thankful for having you in my life.
> 
> This fic is inspired by the song 'Kleid aus Rosen' by Subway To Sally. A link to the song and an english translation are in the end notes.

Meister, Meister gib mir Rosen,  
Rosen auf mein weißes Kleid,  
Stech die Blumen in den bloßen  
Unberührten Mädchenleib.

Tony Stark was a young man, barely over twenty-one, when his parents decided to rob his future off of him. In a few weeks he was to marry a young girl in the village - the daughter of the major, barely over sixteen - and Lord, help him, would he not follow their order. The girl, Virgina Potts, was nice, but oh well, she was a girl. She was smaller than him, all soft, dandy, and beautiful. Her body had some curves already, her hair was long, red and healthy, and her eyes sparkled whenever she looked at him. But Tony had to force himself to appreciate all these things. He, himself, was longing for someone taller than him, someone strong, with broad shoulders and arms, that could carry Tony, and maybe even a beard, that would leave traces and burns all over his skin. He tried to not think about this. To not think about the man who lived in the forest outside of the village. It was a little cottage and the man was supposed to be a witch. The people in the village talked about dark magic, about pictures made of ink on his skin, about herbs and spices and potions. There were whispers about him drinking blood, sacrificing people, not ageing a bit for years, and much darker things. But Tony was drawn to him like a moth was to the light. He wanted to know the man, the master of the dark arts. He knew, that the man was watching him, whenever he was in the village to get groceries or other things. Whenever he bought something from Tony - as the son of the local blacksmith he not only learned the craft himself but also had to work the counter - his fingers lingered on Tony's hand and the young man had the feeling that the touch lingered the rest of the day. If there was one thing that was clear as a crystal to Tony, then it was that he needed to talk to the man before he was to marry Virgina.

Ein gutes Mädchen lief einst fort,  
Verließ der Kindheit schönen Ort;  
Verließ die Eltern und sogar  
Den Mann, dem sie versprochen war.  
Vor einem Haus da blieb sie steh'n,  
Darinnen war ein Mann zu sehn  
Der Bilder stach in nackte Haut,  
Da rief das gute Mädchen laut:

The cottage was lovely. It was tucked against a huge rock, sitting in the midst of a little clearing in the forest. Sunlight fell through the small opening in the tree crowns. Moss covered the ground and on one side of the clearing, in front of some trees, was a handmade space for herbs and vegetables to grow. Ivy slung itself from the ground over the walls, nearly covering the whole cottage, leaving only the windows and the door clear. Tony stepped closer to the door, trying to gather all his courage to knock on the door. He raised his hands and the door swung open before he could even knock.  
"What are you doing here?" The man was not necessarily looking like he was mad, but he was not happy either.   
"I wanted to talk to you. I am to marry the young Potts girl in a few weeks but I... I.." Tony fell silent, not able to explain his feelings, fears, and thoughts in a coherent way. "I just need to do... something." He concluded, eyes directed onto the ground, not brave enough to look the man in the face. To look at the face he was longing for.  
"Come inside. You should know, my name is James. Do you want some tea?"   
The inside of the cottage was homely, full of books and little things that Tony had never seen before. There were some pictures at the walls, of a dark man, a blond man - even smaller than Tony as it seemed - and a redheaded woman. Tony had never seen such a red as a hair colour before and he wondered if these were her real hair. The man - James - was often in these pictures too and he was always smiling or laughing.  
James was currently in the kitchen, preparing fresh tea from his own herbs at it seemed. Tony watched him, trying to seem casual and not nervous at all.  
"So, you feel it too?" The taller man joined him in the living room, two cups in his hands, holding one out for Tony to take.   
"That thing between us? When you were around five years old and the young Virgina Potts was just born, your parents came to me to cast a spell. You two have to marry or else great tragedy will come over your families. But these feelings I have for you, they really make me regret this spell."   
"They did what?" Tony felt how the blood drained from his face, shock rushing through his veins. "Why did they - forget I asked. Of course, they would do something like that and then gossip about what a bad person you are. Can you break the spell? Please, tell me, you can break the spell. I can't marry her. I need..."  
"A man. Right? That is what you can't admit. That you long for a man to love you, not a woman."   
Tony nodded, swallowed his fear and took a step forward into James' space, their bodies nearly touching. He could feel the warmth of James radiating onto his skin and his breath on Tony's cheeks. "I want you. It was always you." He whispered, reaching out and interlacing his fingers with James'.  
The hurting in James' eyes was clear and Tony knew, this would not be easy.  
"Tell me there is something we can do."  
"I can break the spell but, there is nothing we can do without Virgina. I need... I need to ink you both. But it has to be by her own will."  
Tony smiled warmly. "Let Virgina be my problem. I don't think, that this will be hard."  
James did not answer for a moment, searching for something in Tony's eyes. He seemed to have found it because he smiled hesitantly.   
"Can you kiss me now?" Tony grinned and James chuckled lowly. "You are a menace." he declared before he followed Tony's wish.

Meister, Meister gib mir Rosen,  
Rosen auf mein weißes Kleid,  
Stech die Blumen in den bloßen  
Unberührten Mädchenleib.

"I have an idea. What do you say about going to the man in the forest? He paints pictures made of ink on skin and I thought, it would be dashing if you and I had something to declare our bond before our marriage - like an early present."  
Young Virgina Potts was walking beside Tony next to the river. She had her arm hooked into his and was smiling blindingly at everyone who passed them. "Are they permanent?" She asked sweetly, smiling up at him. "Yes, they are, but so will our marriage be. I think it is a wonderful idea and I would love it." Tony grinned, trying to be convincing. As soon as her eyes started to sparkle he knew, he had won.   
"I agree, let us do this. But," and she chuckled a bit, "let visit him separately and the picture should be a surprise for each other."  
Tony agreed, already impatient to see James again, alone.

„Diese Rosen kosten Blut“,  
So sprach der Meister sanft und gut,  
„Enden früh dein junges Leben,  
Will dir lieber keine geben.“  
Doch das Mädchen war vernarrt,  
Hat auf Knien ausgeharrt  
Bis er nicht mehr widerstand  
Und die Nadeln nahm zur Hand.

Meister, Meister gib mir Rosen,  
Rosen auf mein weißes Kleid,  
Stech die Blumen in den bloßen  
Unberührten Mädchenleib.

Virgina Potts deeply regretted goinf to the cottage in the woods alone. It seemed unfriendly and murky towards her. None the less did she want such a picture on her skin. Not only to express her love towards the young, dashing blacksmith but also because she loved the idea and she knew, her parents would hate it. One last rebellious act before she moved out of the house, out of their influence.   
She knocked hard on the door, three times, and then waited for a reaction. The door swung open and a tall man stands in front of her. Virgina had seen him a few times in the village but never really cared much about him. He had a handsome face but did not seem to be the happiest person to socialize with. "What can I do for you?" He asked and Virgina smiled.   
"Hello, my name is Virgina Potts. I am to marry Tony Stark next week. And I thought a picture from you on my skin would be the perfect present for him. I thought about some roses. they will look beautiful on my skin. Maybe on the right side of my torso?"   
The man opened the door wider. "Come inside. These pictures won't be cheap. They cost some blood and will maybe hurt you in ways you can't understand." He warned her but she just smiled. "Oh no worries, I can take all the pain and a little loss of blood won't hurt."  
The man showed her the table in the kitchen for her to lie on and then prepared a needle and ink. He stood beside her, the needle in his hand, Virginia's shirt tucked up. "Are you absolutely sure, you want Roses? And are you absolutely sure you're willing to pay the pain and the blood for them?"  
His wording was a bit odd, but young, naive Virgina Potts just nodded. His gentle smile turned diabolic when the needle met her skin and Virgina doubted her decision for the first time. But it was too late.   
The pain was unbearable.

Und aus seinen tiefen Stichen  
Wuchsen Blätter, wuchsen Blüten,  
Wuchsen unbekannte Schmerzen  
In dem jungen Mädchenherzen.

Tony Stark and James Barnes flew from the village the same night. The witch told the blacksmith that the spell was broken and that they needed to be gone by the night before the people found out about their love. "Virgina will be fine and there won't be any tragedy coming upon your family." He told him. So Tony packed his bags and met James at the cottage.   
James had all his belongings packed into a carriage, two horses in front of it.   
"Hop on and let us go." He smiled at Tony, pressing a kiss on his lips and Tony knew everything was going to be fine. They would travel to James' friends and live next to them, in another cottage that they would make their home. He would be the happiest guy to ever have lived on earth.  
"You know, I would have never thought, that it would be this easy." Tony grinned at his boyfriend - his boyfriend, he still could not believe it - and rubbed over his own Picture made of ink. It was in the middle of his chest, over his heart. It was round, a little bit abstract, with a tiny rose in its middle. James smiled - it seemed to be a bit strained, but Tony thought it was because he was nervous about leaving - and kissed him again. "Yeah, it was easy. I am just so happy, that I can love you. You make me happy." Tony laughed. "You make me happy too. Now, let us go and meet our future."

Später hat man sie geseh'n,  
Einsam an den Wassern steh'n.  
Niemals hat man je erfahr'n,  
Welchen Preis der Meister nahm.

Virgina Potts moved into the cottage in the wood. She never talked to anyone and her eyes were always empty and dak. Nobody in the village knew what happened except that her fiance vanished overnight. Her white wedding dress was found by the river soaked with blood and dirt. The people whispered about murder but nobody was brave enough to say it aloud, was she still the daughter of the major. The girl was a ghost of her self, just a shadow, left behind by a living being. Nobody could feel the pain of the absolute emptiness inside her. Nobody could hear her silent screams. And nobody could hear her when the screams stopped after a while. Virgina Potts paid a price she could not understand until it was too late. She paid the price for a happy life that she, herself would never have.

Meister, Meister gib mir Rosen,  
Rosen auf mein weißes Kleid,  
Stech die Blumen in den bloßen  
Unberührten Mädchenleib.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ9GeAQSiQQ
> 
> and this is the english translation - taken from: https://lyricstranslate.com/en/kleid-aus-rosen-dress-roses.html
> 
> Master, master give me roses,  
> roses on my white dress,  
> pierce the flowers into the bare,  
> untouched maiden body
> 
> A good girl once ran away,  
> left her childhoods lovely place;  
> left her parents and even  
> the man she was promised to.  
> In front of a house was where she stopped  
> you could see a man inside  
> who pierced pictures into naked skin,  
> there the girl called out:
> 
> (Chorus)  
> Master, master give me roses,  
> roses on my white dress,  
> pierce the flowers into the bare,  
> untouched maiden body
> 
> "These roses do cost blood",  
> spoke the master well and gently,  
> "Ending your young life early,  
> I wouldn't want to give you any."  
> But the girl was stubborn  
> holding out on her knees  
> until he could not resist anymore  
> and took the needle to his hand
> 
> (Chorus)  
> Master, master give me roses,  
> roses on my white dress,  
> pierce the flowers into the bare,  
> untouched maiden body
> 
> And from his deep stings  
> grew leaves, grew blossoms,  
> grew so much pain  
> in the young maiden's heart.  
> Later she was seen  
> standing lonely at the shore.  
> Noone ever knew,  
> what price the master took.
> 
> (Chorus)  
> Master, master give me roses,  
> roses on my white dress,  
> pierce the flowers into the bare,  
> untouched maiden body  
> https://lyricstranslate.com/en/kleid-aus-rosen-dress-roses.html


End file.
